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Communism on rise in recession-hit countries

People are dumb. Communism was terrible, worse than capitalism. Its sad to see people turning back to the old evil system in times of economic downturn - even though capitalism is a strongly flawed indeed and a struggling system right now.

People outta turn to something new. Solution to capitalism is NOT communism. This communist "rebirth" is not just happening in Japan, but in Russia, Germany, France, other countries probably too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8027397.stm

Communism on rise in recession-hit Japan

quote:

The protesters gathered in a park in the shadow of corporate headquarter skyscrapers, a short walk from Ginza, Tokyo's most upscale shopping district. Hundreds strong, they included workers already laid off as the global downturn battered Japan's economy, and those who feared they might be next. The demonstrators set off on a march towards Japan's Diet building - or parliament - carrying red flags. "I support the Communist Party because it's the one that thinks about workers first," said one man. "We're demonstrating to get better rights for the temporary workers," said another. "The Communist Party is the only party that gets really serious about problems like this." Fists in the air Lined up on a set of steps near the Diet, wearing suits, red sashes and beaming smiles were officials from the Japanese Communist Party. They joined the protesters chanting and raising their fists in the air. The Communist Party has always had a surprisingly large role in Japan, the world's second biggest economy. But while it had been fading towards irrelevance, now as the recession bites it is on the rise again. The party already has more than 400,000 members and people are joining at the rate of 1,000 a month. In comparison, the membership of the Liberal Democratic Party, the largest member of the governing coalition, is twice the size. But its numbers are declining. "Many people are beginning to think: 'Is Japanese capitalism OK as it is?'" said Akira Kasai, a Communist member of the Diet's House of Representatives. "Living standards are going down. The gap between rich and poor is growing." Lost generation Communist ideology has been spread in Japan in unusual ways. There was a book, Kanikosen - The Crab Factory Ship, which raced back up the bestsellers' lists. A classic tale of proletarian fishermen uniting to rise up against their bosses, it had been almost forgotten since it was written in 1929. Publishers have also produced a manga, or comic, version of Das Kapital, Karl Marx's treatise on how capitalism would collapse under the weight of its own contradictions. One new Communist Party member we met in a restaurant found out about Marxism on the internet. "I got interested in Karl Marx a few years ago," she said. "In capitalism now we are controlled by the capitalists, or capital. But I think in communism society we can think about whole of the society and decide our economic activities in democratic way." The woman, 34, did not want to be identified for fear her employers, whom she claimed disapproved of the Communists, would find out. But she had told her family. "My parents were very surprised that I joined the party," she said. "They are not supporters of the Communist Party. They don't understand correctly, I think." The woman said she was a member of a "lost generation" - people who came into the employment market during Japan's long stagnation in the 1990s and could not find proper jobs. As the economy picked up at the start of this century, employers picked graduates untainted by years of drifting. Job insecurity Now Japan's economy, which relies for growth on sales abroad of cars, electronics and machinery, is struggling again. Exports have fallen by nearly half compared to a year ago, and industrial production has dived. The traditional Japanese dream of a job for life has been further undermined by reforms of the labour market in 2004 that allowed manufacturers to take on temporary workers. About a third of the workforce is now on short-term contracts and their jobs are the most threatened. Communist members of parliament make much of their efforts to get workers a better deal by holding talks with company managers. Unions are helping some to take their employers to court claiming wrongful dismissal. Not even the Communists themselves expect to win power soon. But they won nearly five million votes in the last election for the more powerful lower house of the Diet, and that was before the downturn. They are hoping to do better when the Japanese next go to the polls later this year. "Of course the final goal is a socialist, communist society in Japan, overcoming capitalism," said Akira Kasai. "But before that we are taking a step-by-step approach. The first stage is to solve problems of labour and living standards according to people's demand."

Re: Communism on rise in recession-hit countries

quote:

Originally posted by Magnetonium People are dumb. Communism was terrible, worse than capitalism.

This sounds as if you are saying capitalism is bad. Are you in fact suggesting that capitalism is bad?

In India, lenin-marxist guerillas are applying increasing amounts of aggression to win voters in the upcoming election election. India is a key country to watch for this, since in the last 15 years or so, the massive growth in gdp has nothing to show in regards to equity amongst the people.

I wouldn't consider this a communist rebirth in India however, the movement has always been somewhat present since the 20's(Kerala and west bengal are dominated by the marxist party)...but perhaps we should see if this election shifts the power.

Re: Re: Communism on rise in recession-hit countries

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Originally posted by AsparTAME This sounds as if you are saying capitalism is bad. Are you in fact suggesting that capitalism is bad?

Yes I did. It has many flaws. So much greed. It can be said that some of these flaws of capitalism have resulted in today's economic downturn.

Many countries and people around the world are yet to enjoy the benefits of capitalism. Look at United States - ranked in the top bracket for use of the world's resources / energy and ranked similarly in waste and garbage generated. Thats successful capitalism for you.

Cant work on a planetary scale. Its a linear system, and linear systems will fail on a planet with finite resources. Economic and capitalist growth can only go so far at the expense of environment and humanity.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Damerchi In India, lenin-marxist guerillas are applying increasing amounts of aggression to win voters in the upcoming election election. India is a key country to watch for this, since in the last 15 years or so, the massive growth in gdp has nothing to show in regards to equity amongst the people. I wouldn't consider this a communist rebirth in India however, the movement has always been somewhat present since the 20's(Kerala and west bengal are dominated by the marxist party)...but perhaps we should see if this election shifts the power.

Indeed, I read about that too. I wonder if Chinese influence has anything to do with this. Look at Nepal, for example. Where there's poverty - communists (or Marxist-Leninists, Stalinists, Maoists, etc.) are almost always present. Go figure.

Re: Re: Re: Communism on rise in recession-hit countries

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Originally posted by Magnetonium Yes I did. It has many flaws. So much greed.

It's funny people say that greed is a flaw in capitalism because it actually is the reason capitalism works! Capitalism's flaw is not greed (which is defined by M-W as: a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed), it's the short-sightedness of people. Greed doesn't necessarily mean bad things for workers. Happy workers are productive workers. A business person who treats his workers properly is more likely to have productive workers, and be more profitable in the long term. A business person who treats his workers poorly, may acquire wealth, but can never really maximize that wealth because he will never have the best workers or the most productive workers. The system isn't flawed, it's the people who are flawed. Regardless of the economic system, people are flawed, and their flaws will always carrythrough notwithstanding the greatness of the system.

I don't think capitalism is "terribly flawed". The only flawed bit about it is that we've allowed it to be partially merged with fascism and socialism. It is those elements that have corrupted it..the fact that our government can be bought by companies...the fact that politicians are willing to enslave one group of the population to benefit another...vote buying..favor trading..using the coercive power of the state to benefit special interests.. THOSE are the main problems we have, and they are not problems of the free market. They are problems of government interference.

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